Feeding birds during winter: extra food and water

Scatter bird food starting in the morning spread throughout the day. If you only give extra food in the evening, it will remain overnight and you will soon have mice joining you at the banquet table. 

Check - especially in wet weather - that the feed does not start to mold or become a dirty mess. Clean up the feeding area regularly.

Provide multiple feeding areas so that smaller bird species also have a chance to eat.

Water is vital and in the harsh winter months it dares to freeze. Break the ice or replace frozen water bowls with fresh ones several times a day. Birds use water not only to drink, but also to wash their plumage.

Do not give birds food with salt in it.

Don't limit bird meals to fat balls, but provide plenty of variety. 

Suet balls or suet balls

The most obvious way to give birds extra food is through fat balls. They contain many calories that provide birds with energy quickly. Make sure the fat balls are free of salt, as this is bad for birds. If you hang fat balls: choose the version without a net, as they disappear too easily in nature or bird's feet get tangled in them. There are handy silos for sale in which you can hang several individual fat balls.

Tip: You can make your own fat balls by mixing unsalted animal fat or coconut oil with seeds and nuts. This gives birds a high-calorie meal and it's also a fun activity to do with kids.

Peanut butter or peanut garlands

Unroasted, unsalted peanuts are an excellent source of protein for birds, especially blue tits and woodpeckers. You can place whole peanuts in a special peanut feeder so birds can peck them into small pieces.

Seed mixes

Seeds are a great source of energy. You can buy special seed mixes for garden birds, which often contain sunflower seeds, oats and other nutritious seeds. Sunflower seeds, especially the black ones, are favored by many types of birds such as titmice, finches and robins.

Fruit

Fruits such as apples, pears or raisins are a year-round treat for birds such as blackbirds and thrushes. You can simply lay pieces of fruit on the ground, hang them on strings in a tree or place them in a feeder. When it is freezing, it is better to give the fruit whole rather than in small pieces.

Dried mealworms

Mealworms are an excellent source of protein for insect-eating birds such as robins and wrens. You can mix them through a seed mix or offer them on the feeder shelf. 

Custom planting and spent flowers

Let the flower heads of spent sunflowers dry and use the seeds as extra food for birds in winter. You can also put specific plants or shrubs in your garden in which birds find extra food for themselves, think of rose varieties that form hips.

It is important to offer food regularly: birds soon know which regular spots to score food in. So try to stay consistent, especially during periods of severe frost or snow, when birds have more difficulty finding food.

Give feed scattered throughout the day so that most of it is gone by evening. Otherwise, it becomes too pleasurable for pests.

Be sure to keep the feeding table or feeders clean to prevent the spread of disease.

If you provide several feeding areas in the garden, all birds - large and small - will have space to eat without crowding each other.

A covered feeder protects food from rain or snow.

An open feeding board is a little more accessible to birds. Choose (or make) one with raised edges so the food doesn't fall off.

You can offer peanut butter in small houses in which such a goblet fits well.

There are several food tubes on the market into which you can put seed mixes or fat balls.

Try to set up your feeders high enough to keep your birds safe from cats. Place them near a tree, bush or hedge so that small birds can easily get to a hiding place.

Some birds, such as sparrows, finches, robins and wrens like to eat their snack on the ground. In that case, see if you can offer the food snow-free, such as under a bush.

Bird Baths

A simple bird bath can work wonders, but make sure the water doesn't freeze during the colder days. You can use a bird bath heater or offer fresh water every morning if you notice the water freezing.

Snow and ice

Birds can use some melting ice or snow as a source of water, but it is not always enough. So try to replenish water regularly.

Additions

All sorts of stories circulate about how to keep water for birds from freezing. Do not add salt, as that is bad for birds. Sugar is also a no go, as it only gets sticky when they wash themselves with it. 

Nesting boxes

In the fall and winter, birds often use nesting boxes as roosts. Make sure the nesting boxes are well cleaned and possibly insulated to provide warmth. You can also choose a nest box with a smaller entrance to give smaller birds extra protection from larger predators.

Dense shrubs and hedges

Birds find shelter in dense shrubs such as holly, ivy and conifers. Those plants provide not only a place to rest, but sometimes food in the form of berries.

Branches and leaves

Leave a pile of twigs and leaves in a corner of your garden. Those natural elements provide hiding places for birds, as well as insects that can be an important food source for birds.

Hedgehogs

Leave a pile of leaves or a hedgehog house in your yard so hedgehogs have a place to hibernate. Hedgehogs often depend on such hiding places for hibernation. By the way, in October, before they crawl under the wool, hedgehogs look for extra food to build up a layer of fat. You can give them cat food or special food for hedgehogs found at the garden center.

Squirrels

Place a separate feeding area for squirrels with nuts, seeds and fruit. This will prevent them from stealing the birds' food.

Insects

Insects also need to get through the winter. They need hiding places to hibernate. Hang insect hotels and leave some wood or leaves to give bees and ladybugs a safe place.

Amphibians

With a small pond or water feature, you can help a lot of amphibians, such as frogs and salamanders, find a place to hibernate. By the way, toads do not hibernate in water, but crawl into hollows under the ground for their hibernation. A roof tile, compost pile or wood pile will do just fine.